Fédération Mondiale Berger Belges (vzw.) Spanjaardstraat 59, B 8490 Stalhille (Belgium), tel. : ++32.59.23.86.81 internet: http://www.fmbb.net Specifications IPO For the organization of the FMBB World Championships 1. Composition a) The FMBB IPO World Championships exits in two parts. 1. The FMBB IPO World Cup (A, B & C phase). 2. The FMBB IPO World Championship (B & C phase on Sunday). 2. Admission and registration of competitors a) The total number of competitors taking part in the IPO World Cup is not limited. If the situation requires it, the FMBB IPO commission and/or FMBB Board can limit the numbers or can add an extra day to the championship. b) Competitors are not allowed to compete in more than one discipline with the same dog at the FMBB Championships (except exposition). c) The dog must have the IPO 3 certificate before he/she can register for the FMBB IPO Championships. d) At the world Championships (Final) are invited the 20 best teams of the World Cup. e) Replacements from lower places are not allowed. f) If a competitor that s selected in the 20 best and refusing to compete, this has to be with valid reason. If it concerns a sick or a dog that is hurt, this must be validated by the veterinarian. g) When refusal to compete without a valid reason, the scorebook will be filled in with B: 0 C: 0 and an entry for unsportsmanlike conduct. h) A maximum of 6 dog handlers per country can be admitted (+ World Cup Winner and World Champion). Each owner may only enter with one dog. In the case of too few registrations, the FMBB IPO Commission or FMBB Board can allow the registered substitute handlers to enter the Championships for their team additionally. The decision is to be made known to the team leaders immediately after the closing date for registration. i) Each team can register two substitute entrants for the FMBB World Cup, who are also to be listed in the catalogue. If any of the entrants registered cannot take part because illness/accident, they may only be replaced by the persons registered as substitute competitors.
3. Meetings a) Before start of the World Cup meeting will be organized with Supervisor, judges and trial responsible. b) Before start of the World Cup a team leader meeting will be organized with the supervisors, the judges, the team leaders and the trial responsible. At this meeting the drawing list for individual drawing is determined by lottery of the countries. 4. Supervisor a) The FMBB IPO Commission and FMBB Board shall nominate a supervisor. The supervisor shall be responsible for compliance with all the regulations of the trial rules and the FMBB specifications. b) The organizer and the competitors must follow the instructions given by the chief judge in all respects. c) The supervisor will be the judge in the field in the world championship. d) The supervisor should be respected by all judges, competitors and organizing staff of the competition. 5. Track responsible a) He/she should be IPO Judge. Knowledge of the tracking region is obliged, so this has to be a judge from the organizing country. b) The duties of the track supervisor, in cooperation with the organizer, shall include: Cooperation in the selection of the tracking ground, guiding and possibly instructing the track layers determining the objects and order of laying them out. Arranging the numbering of the articles and tracking boards. Checking the weathering of the articles, proper laying of the individual tracks and confirming the same for the acting trial judges. Having a track re-laid if it has been made unusable through external, third-party influences, e.g. changes in the ground though agricultural work, large groups of people, etc. c) The track supervisor shall have the following rights: Rejecting a section of the ground that differs greatly from the other tracks through unforeseen changes in the nature of the soil. Rejecting a track layer if he/she repeatedly does not follow instructions. d) If the trial judges or supervisor only have knowledge of one language, other than English, an interpreter is to be provided by the organization running the event. The interpreter must be familiar with the course of the trials, display cynological knowledge and observe discretion. e) The decision of the trial judges shall be final and incontestable. 6. Judging World Cup and World Championship a) World Cup 1. The phases A, B and C will each be judged by two different judges. 2. The two judges should make up their mind without discussing the presentation. Both points should be made public. The average of the two points will give the final result. 3. During the evaluation of a particular phase only full points are to be awarded per judge. However with individual exercises, partial points can be given. 4. For the final results from a particular phase (average from the two judges), partial points are allowed (example: 91 + 90 = 182 / 2 = 90,50). 5. The sum of the phases A, B & C will be rounded up. 6. All judging sheets shall be issued to the IPO secretary. The sheets can be returned to the judges after the competitions if desired.
b) World Championship 1. The B and the C phase will be judged by 3 judges and the supervisor who will individually score the presentation without any discussion with the other judges. 2. The supervisor will give all instructions to the handler(s) on the field. 3. All judges can be on the trial field, however, they are not allowed in any way to be at places on the field were the dog or the handler have the right to be to perform their exercises. 4. There cannot be any influence of any kind towards the dog and/or the handler from the judges. 5. The points will be composed as follows: The points from all four judges will be announced in public. From the four given points by the four judges, the highest and the lowest points will not be retained. The average of the two middle points will be the definitive points given to the handler. Half points are allowed, rounding up or down is not allowed. 7. Trial responsible phase A,B & C 8. Helpers a) The organizer running the event shall provide a qualified trial responsible for each section (A, B and C), whose work shall include, in particular: b) Technical running of the trial. c) Provision, planning and equipment of a sufficiently large trial area. d) Providing a sufficient number of qualified helpers (marshals, tracklayers, protection helpers, office personnel, etc.). e) Quick and reliable working out of the trial results to determine the winner and order of placing. f) Provide the necessary documents for the Judges, marshals, speaker and al who needs. g) Timetables are to be provided per phase, per day and overall. h) The organizer will designate, if possible, one person per country/team to be the single point of contact for all questions and help for all possible issues. a) The two protection helpers actually used for the World Cup, the two helpers used actually for the World Championship and two reserve helpers are to be chosen from a minimum of six protection helpers made available by the organizer. The choice can be made by the organizer. b) The protection helpers must use the protective clothing, i.e. protective sleeve, protective trousers, protective jacket, determined by the FCI. c) The organization committee shall make sure that all helpers have the necessary licenses. d) The helpers must be in excellent health and excellent condition. e) The helpers must see to it that they work the same for all dogs. f) The helpers have to follow the directives given by the protection trial Judges as long the international FCI IPO regulations are respected. g) The helpers are not allowed to use soccer shoes with metal studs. Only plastic studs are allowed. h) The helpers are not allowed to use beverages containing alcohol during the competition. 9. Classification and titles 1. The competitor with the highest total number of points and minimum qualification of "very good" in the individual scoring in the FMBB World Cup shall be the winner and be awarded with the title of "20xx (xx to indicate the year) FMBB IPO World Cup Winner". 2. The competitor with the highest total number of points and minimum qualification of "very good" in the
individual scoring in the FMBB IPO World Cup summed with the total number of points and minimum qualification of "very good" in the individual scoring in the FMBB IPO World Championship shall be the winner and be awarded the title of "20xx (xx to indicate the year) FMBB IPO World Champion". 3. In the case of a tied score, the higher individual result in Phase C shall first be decisive, then the higher individual result in phase B. In the case of tied individual results, the competitors shall be classified in the same position. The following position drops out (example: equal third place = dropout place four and continue with place five). 4. All competitors that have achieved a positive result in the FMBB World Cup shall be included in the team score. The three highest overall results per team shall be considered. In the case of a tied score, the higher score in phase C shall first be decisive, then the higher score in phase B. If the scores are tied in the individual sections, the teams shall be classified in the same position. The team with the highest number of points shall be awarded the title of FMBB IPO Team World Champion. 10. Bitches in heat a) Bitches in heat are allowed, but must be reported immediately upon arrival of the participant in the Secretary. b) Condition is that they must be kept isolated from the other competitors and compete obedience and protection work as the last participants on Saturday and on Sunday. c) For tracking, the females are separate from all other participating dogs. They can be assigned designated start numbers or can draw normal start numbers and make tracking as foreseen in the timetable. d) Bitches in heat get 5 minutes of training time before obedience and protection exercise. After a 15 minute break, they begin their exercises. e) Between obedience and protection work 30 minute break must be observed. 11. Time table IPO World Cup competition days a) A time schedule is to be drawn up showing the presentation time for each competitor. This time schedule must be compiled in such a way that each competitor has a period of at least one day between the individual trial sections. The order of the trial phases can be different. b) In the time table must be foreseen: 15 minutes for tracking, 12 minutes for obedience and 8 minutes for defense per dog. 12. Time table IPO World Championship on Sunday a) A time schedule is to be drawn up showing the presentation time for each competitor. This time schedule must be compiled in such a way that each competitor has a period of at least one hour between the B and the C phase. This timetable must be published in the catalogue. 13. Training a) The teams are to be given time (5 minutes per competitor) for training obedience and protection work one or two days before the World Cup starts. The organization will compose groups for training with where possible 6 dogs per group. These groups can be composed with competitors from different countries. b) The organizer must foresee a field for training nearby or in the stadium, equipped for training in class 3, obedience and defense. 14. Drawing of the start numbers a) The draw for the individual starting order is to be conducted in public on the evening before the start of the World Cup. The catalogue number with the lot number assigned by the draw must be made visible to all the competitors. 15. Obedience and Protection demonstration a) An obedience and protection phase is to be demonstrated in the arena with the protection helpers before
16. Tracking the team leaders meeting to ensure that the desired sequence is clear to every competitor and questions can be asked during the team leaders meeting. a) The competitors are to be allocated a training ground for tracking training which corresponds as close as possible to the actual tracking ground. b) The tracking ground should enable all competitors to have similar conditions. The ground does not have to be of one uniform type; alternative grounds such as meadows, fields and ground with low plants can also be used. c) Obstacles such as fences, ditches, etc. are permitted as long as overcoming them does not cause the dog or the handler any undue difficulties. d) The tracking ground used on day one can be used again on day three, the tracking ground used on day two can be used again on day four. e) The track organizer is to be given a sketch of the tracking ground in a scale of 1:5000 showing the tracks. f) There must be at least five qualified track layers available. All tracks and articles must be numbered, together with the working-out time and day. g) The articles must be conform the IPO regulations. The articles can be send to the participating country s immediately after the registration has been made. h) The length of the tracks can be shortened by the FMBB IPO commission in consultation with the person in charge of organization. The length determined and information about the ground and the forms of the tracks is to be made known to the competitors. i) If the length of the tracking leash has to be measured, this can only be done before the start of the tracking (as foreseen in the IPO regulations). It is forbidden to do this after the tracking. j) The tattoo or chip must be checked by the trial supervisor or his appointee after the dog carried out his/her tracking. 17. Obedience & Defense 18. Results a) The tattoo or chip must be checked by the trial supervisor or his appointee after the dog carried out his/her obedience or defense. b) Obedience and protection work are to be carried out in the arena, alternating in one and the same place. During the obedience, only the items required shall be present (hurdle, climbing wall, dumbbells, one blind for the down exercise); the 6 search blinds shall only be set up during the protection work. Positions and distances are to be marked using white chalk by the supervisor. a) All results must be regularly entered on a results board easily visible to the public (can be electronic). 19. Generality s a) In cases of doubt, which is not covered in this specification, the final decision will be made by the FMBB IPO commission and/or FMBB Board. b) For each organizer the content of the specification and the rules of the FCI are binding. For violations of any kind, the organizer will be held accountable. c) In justified cases, or when there are special circumstances, the FMBB Board can put any provisions of this required specification in exception.